Benzo[1,2-b:4,5-b′]dithiophene-based conjugated polyelectrolyte for the cathode modification of inverted polymer solar cells

A conjugated polyelectrolyte (CPE) named PBNBr, is prepared by post-quaternizing of poly{4,8-bis(octyloxy)benzo[1,2-b:4,5-b′]dithiophene-2,6-diyl-alt-9,9-bis(3′-((N,N-dimethylamino)propyl)fluorene-2,7-diyl} (PBN) with bromoethane. The chemical strucutes, electrooptical properties of the PBNBr is fully characterized. As compared with the PBN, the PBNBr exhibit much better methanol solution processibility, and more effectively tuning ability for the work function (W_f) of ITO (W_F bare ITO, ?4.8 eV, W_F of ITO with PBN interlayer, ?4.1 eV, W_F of ITO with PBNBr interlayer ?3.9 eV). The open circuit voltages (V_OC) and power conversion efficiencies (PCEs) of polymer solar cells from the blend film of poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT) and [6,6]-phenylC₆₁-butyric acid methyl ester (PC₆₁BM) with PBN and/or PBNBr modified ITO as cathode are respectively increased about 27% and 120% in contrast to those for the control devices with bare ITO as cathode. And PCEs of 4.21% and 4.53% are achieved in the PSCs with PBN and/or PBNBr modified ITO as cathode.     

Organic solar cells based on chlorine functionalized benzo[1,2-b:4,5-b′]difuran-benzo[1,2-c:4,5-c′]dithiophene-4,8-dione copolymer with efficiency exceeding 13%

Benzo[1,2-b:4,5-b′]dithiophene(BDT) has been widely used to construct donor-acceptor(D-A) copolymers in organic solar cells(OSCs). However, benzo[1,2-b:4,5-b′]difuran(BDF), an analogue of BDT, has received less attention than BDT. The photovoltaic performance of BDF copolymers has lagged behind that of BDT copolymers. Here, we designed and synthesized two BDF copolymers, PBF1-C and PBF1-C-2Cl. PBF1-C-2Cl, which is composed of BDF and benzo[1,2-c:4,5-c′]dithiophene-4,8-dione connected by a chlorinated thiophene π-bridge, displays a low-lying highest occupied molecular orbital energy level,which helps in yielding a high open-circuit voltage(V_(oc)) in OSCs. As a result, when blended with Y6, PBF1-C-2Cl-based devices showed a high V_(oc) of 0.83 V and a power conversion efficiency(PCE) of 13.10%. To the best of our knowledge, the PCE of 13.10% is among the highest efficiency values for OSCs based on BDF copolymers.     

Palladium-Catalyzed C-H Bond Functionalization of Benzo[1,2-b : 4,5-b′]dithiophene-4,8-dione: A One Step Access to 2-Arylbenzo[1,2-b : 4,5-b′]dithiophene-4,8-diones

The reactivity of benzo[1,2-b : 4,5-b′]dithiophene-4,8-dione in Pd-catalyzed C−H arylation was investigated. Using aryl bromides as aryl source in the presence of carbonate bases in 1,4-dioxane, the mono-C2-arylated benzo[1,2-b : 4,5-b′]dithiophene-4,8-diones were regioselectively obtained. This procedure allowed to introduce both electron-rich and electron-poor aryl substituents on the benzo[1,2-b : 4,5-b′]dithiophene-4,8-dione unit. These conditions were also effective for the coupling with 1-bromonaphthalene, 9-bromophenanthrene as well as aryl bromides bearing synthetically useful nitrile, chloro and methoxy substituents. The photophysical properties of representative arylated compounds have been performed by joint experimental and theoretical studies.     

Synthesis and photoelectric properties of an organic dye containing benzo[1,2-b：4,5-b’]dithiophene for dye-sensitized solar cells

A novel benzodithiophene-containing organic dye BDT was synthesized and characterized as a sensitizer for a nanocrystalline TiO₂-based dye-sensitized solar cell.The BDT dye shows two major electronic absorptions.The absorption of the BDT dye covers a broad visible range from 300 nm to 550 nm.The benzodithiophene unit was used as aπbridge with several advantages:（1） It facilitates the electron transfer from the donor to the acceptor;（2） A facile structural modification on the 4,8-positions in the benzodithiophene unit can be achieved;（3） Fusing benzene with two flanking thiophene units improves the thermal stability.Under simulated AM1.5G solar light（100 mW/cm²） illumination,the DSC based on BDT gives a power conversion efficiency of 1.78%.     

A Near-infrared Non-fullerene Acceptor with Thienopyrrole-expanded Benzo[1,2-b:4,5-b′]dithiophene Core for Polymer Solar Cells

A near-infrared non-fullerene acceptor(NFA) BDTIC, based on thienopyrrole-expanded benzo[1,2-b:4,5-b′]dithiophene unit(heptacyclic S,N-heteroacene) as core, is designed and synthesized. The aromatic pyrrole ring with strong electron-donating ability in the core enhances the intramolecular charge transfer effect, finely tunes the optical bandgap and absorption profile of BDTIC, and thus results in a narrowed optical bandgap(E_g~(opt)) of 1.38 eV and a near-infrared absorption to 900 nm. When BDTIC is paired with donor polymer PBDB-T to fabricate organic solar cells, the optimized device achieves a best power conversion efficiency of 12.1% with a short-circuit current density of 20.0 mA·cm~(-2) and an open-circuit voltage of 0.88 V. The photovoltaic performance benefits from the broad absorption, weak bimolecular recombination, efficient charge separation and collection, and favorable blend morphology. This work demonstrates that thienopyrroleexpanded benzo[1,2-b:4,5-b′]dithiophene unit(heptacyclic S,N-heteroacene) is a promising building unit to construct high-performance NFAs by enhancing the intramolecular charge transfer effect, broadening absorption as well as maintaining good intermolecular stacking property.     

Synthesis and characterization of push–pull organic semiconductors with various acceptors for solution-processed small molecule organic solar cells

New efficient push–pull organic semiconductors comprising of the bis(9,9-dimethyl-9H-fluoren-2-yl)aniline (bisDMFA) donor and the various acceptors such as NO₂, DCBP, and TCF, which were linked with bithiophene or vinyl bithiophene π-conjugation bridges, were synthesized, and their photovoltaic characteristics were investigated in solution-processed small molecule organic solar cells (SMOSCs). The intramolecular charge transfers of these materials were effectively appeared in between bisDMFA donor and acceptors, depending on the electron-withdrawing strength of acceptors. The organic semiconductors having NO₂ and DCBP acceptors exhibited the most efficient photovoltaic performance, showing power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 1.98% (±0.17) and 2.01% (±0.21), respectively. When the TiO_x thin layer was treated on photoactive layer, the organic semiconductor having NO₂ showed the best PCE of 2.70% with short circuit current of 8.19 mA/cm², fill factor of 0.40, and open circuit voltage of 0.83 V in SMOSC devices.     

Synthesis and characterization of NLO chromophore with benzo [1,2-b:4,5-b′]dithiophene unit as π-electron bridge

A novel chromophore BDT–TCF with benzo[1,2-b:4,5-b′]dithiophene (BDT) unit as electron bridge was synthesized and characterized by UV–vis, NMR spectroscopy, and thermal analysis. It is the first time that BDT unit was introduced into NLO materials. The chromophore showed excellent solubility in most common solvents, and good thermal stability for practical applications. The second order nonlinear optical effect was measured by hyper Rayleigh scattering method. The diagonal hyperpolarizability β_zzz of BDT–TCF was 8.2 × 10^?28 and 9.3 × 10^?29 esu in THF solvent and in PMMA polymer matrices, respectively. The potential NLO response indicates that BDT unit is a promising π-electron bridge and an excellent candidate for nonlinear optical devices.     

BODIPY dyes with β-conjugation and their applications for high-efficiency inverted small molecule solar cells

Small molecule BODIPY dyes incorporating conjugated substituents at the β sites have been synthesized. Solution processed inverted bulk heterojunction cells were fabricated from the blends of the dyes and PC(71)BM. The cells exhibited very high open-circuit voltages (>0.9 V) and a high conversion efficiency of 3.22% has been achieved.     

Synthesis of new conjugated copolymers containing 4,8-bis(dodecyloxy)benzo[1,2-b:4,5-b′]dithiophene/5,7-bis(3,4-diethylthien-2-yl)-2,3-diphenylthieno[3,4-b]pyrazine and 4,8-bis(dodecyloxy)benzo[1,2-b:4,5-b′]dithiophene/4,6-di(3,4-diethylthien-2-yl)-thieno[3,4-c][1,2,5]thiadiazole derivatives for photovoltaic applications

Two new donor-acceptor narrow-band-gap photovoltaic copolymers containing various electron-acceptor functional groups, such as thienopyrazine and thienodithiazole derivatives, are synthesized under the conditions of the Suzuki polycondensation reaction and characterized via ¹H NMR spectroscopy and GPC. The optical, electrochemical, and photovoltaic properties of the polymers are examined in detail. Both copolymers have good solubilities, high thermal stabilities, broad absorption regions (350–950 nm), relatively low levels of the highest occupied molecular orbital (?5.01 and ?5.02 eV for polymers I and II, respectively), and narrow band gaps (1.31 and 1.41 eV, respectively). Photovoltaic devices based on a polymer-II-PC₆₀BM (1: 3, wt/wt) mixture under AM 1.5 irradiation of 100 mV/cm² exhibit a power-conversion efficiency of ～0.29%, a short-circuit current of 1.45 mA/cm², an open-circuit voltage of V _oc = 0.67 V, and a fill factor of 0.30. These results are evidence that thienopyrazine functional groups are attractive as electron-acceptor building blocks in organic electronics.     

Near-Infrared Nonfullerene Acceptors Based on 4H-Cyclopenta[1,2-b:5,4-b′]dithiophene for Organic Solar Cells and Organic Field-Effect Transistors

The development of nonfullerene small molecular acceptors (NF-SMAs) has dominated the improvement of efficiencies for organic solar cells and the near-infrared (NIR) absorption is the primary feature of NF-SMAs compared with fullerene derivatives. In this article, a series of acceptor-donor-acceptor-structured NF-SMAs (named CPICs ) containing 4H-cyclopenta[1,2-b : 5,4-b′]dithiophene (CPDT) electron donor and F-substituted 2-(3-oxo-2,3-dihydro-1H-inden-1-ylidene)malononitrile (2FIC) as electron acceptor were designed and synthesized. With the increase of CPDT units, the elongated conjugations broadened the absorption range of the acceptors and tuned their energy levels sequentially. Therefore, their charge-transporting polarities switched from electron-only type to bipolar mode in organic field-effect transistors. Moreover, these changes also influenced the voltages, current densities, and eventual PCEs of their corresponding cells. When blending with PBDB-T, a champion efficiency of 10.01% was achieved in CPIC-2 based cells. This work demonstrated the importance of absorptions, suitable energy levels and charge transports in improving the efficiencies of organic solar cells.     

Synthesis of cycloocta[2,1-b:3,4-b′]diquinoline and cycloocta[2,1-b:3,4-b′]di[1,8]naphthyridine,and x-ray crystal structures of cycloocta[2,1-b:3,4-b′]diquinoline and its 2:1 complex with copper (I) perchlorate

New compounds containing a diquinoline or 1,8-dinaphthyridine nucleus fused to the molecular skeleton of cyclooctatetraene have been synthesized. An X-ray analysis of cycloocta[2,1-b:3,4-b′] diquinoline ($\text{1}$) has revealed that the molecule contains a C₂ axis. The reaction of $\text{1}$ with copper (II) perchlorate furnished a complex of formula [($\text{1}$)₂Cu]ClO₄, the coordination geometry about the copper (I) atom being that of a flattened tetrahedron.     

Synthesis and mass spectral studies of fluorine containing 5a, 7b, 12a, 14b-tetrahydrobisindolo [2,3-b:2′,3′-b′] benzo [1,2-d:4,5-d′] difurans

2:1 Cycloadducts (-H₂) are formed when various fluorinated 2-arylindoles are stirred with p-benzoquinone in acidic medium and are identified as dimers of the type 5a, 7b, 12a, 14b-tetrahydrobisindolo [2,3-b:2′,3′-b′] benzo [1,2-d:4,5-d′] difurans. All the synthesized compounds have been characterized by their analytical and spectral (IR, PMR, ¹⁹F NMR and Mass) data.     

A two-dimension medium band gap conjugated polymer based on 5,10-bis(alkylthien-2-yl)dithieno[3,2-d:3′,2′-d′]benzo[1,2-b:4,5-b′]dithiophene: Synthesis and photovoltaic application

A two-dimension medium band gap copolymer poly{5,10-bis(4,5-didecylthien-2-yl)dithieno[2,3-d:2′,3′-d′]benzo[1,2-b:4,5-b′]dithiophene-2,7-diyl-alt-2,5-di(3-octylthien-2-yl) thiophen-5,5′-diyl}, named as PDTBDT-T-3T, was prepared by the palladium-catalyzed Stille cross coupling reaction and characterized. The resulting polymer exhibits good solubility in common organic solvents, excellent thermal stability, and extensive light absorption from 300 nm to 650 nm with an optical band gap of 1.92 eV, the highest occupied molecular orbital (HOMO) level of ?5.03 eV and the hole mobility up to 1.92 × 10^?4 cm²·V^?1·s^?1. The power conversion efficiencies (PCEs) of 2.02%–3.19% have been achieved in the traditional PVCs for the copolymer. It should be noted that the PCEs of 4.2% for the inverted PVCs from the copolymer with PFN (poly[(9,9-bis(3′-(N,N-dimethylamino)propyl)-2,7-fluorene)-alt-2,7-(9,9-dioctyl- fluorene)]) as cathode modifying interlayer, were similar with the PCEs of 4.39% for the inverted PVCs from P3HT:PC₇₁BM at the same condition. These results indicated that the copolymer could be used as potential candidate for P3HT.     

Influence of end-capped group on structural and electronic properties of the At-π-Ac-π-At small molecule donor for high-performance organic solar cells

Structural Chemistry - To achieve high efficient donors for organic solar cells, structural, electronic, and optical properties of the At-π-Ac-π-At small molecules were systematically...     

Synthesis and characterization of porphyrin-terthiophene and oligothiophene π-conjugated copolymers for polymer solar cells

Two novel conjugated polymers with alternating main chain structures of zinc porphyrin-terthiophene (P-PTT) and zinc porphyrin-oligothiophene (P-POT) were synthesized by Stille reaction. The effect of different lengths of thiophene chains on the thermal, optical, electrochemical, and photovoltaic properties of the two copolymers were investigated in detail. P-PTT exhibited higher onset decomposition temperature (392 °C) and glass-transition temperature (152 °C) than those of P-POT. The introduction of thiophene units in the meso-aryl positions of porphyrin resulted in the red shift and broader absorption spectrum compared with zinc porphyrin (P_Zn) monomer both in chloroform solutions and on thin solid films. The electrochemical properties indicated that the energy levels of the polymers were suitable for efficient charge transfer and separation at the interface between the polymer donor and PCBM acceptor. The bulk heterojunction solar cells based on P-PTT and P-POT showed power conversion efficiencies up to 0.32% and 0.18%, respectively.     

Synthesis of substituted 4-hydroxy-1H-thieno[2,3-b;4,5-b′]dipyridin-2-ones

Substituted 4-hydroxy-1H-thieno[2,3-b;4,5-b′]dipyridin-2-ones were prepared by the reactions of 3-cyanopyridine-2(1H)-thiones with alkyl 4-chloroacetoacetates and by intramolecular cyclization of alkyl 4-(2-pyridylthio)acetoacetates or alkyl 3-(3-aminothieno[2,3-b]pyridin-2-yl)-3-oxopropionates under the action of bases.     

Large branched alkylthienyl bridged naphtho[1,2-c:5,6-c′]bis[1,2,5]thiadiazole-containing low bandgap copolymers: Synthesis and photovoltaic application

Two donor-acceptor (D-A) type low bandgap (LBG) alternating conjugated copolymers containing larger conjugation planarity and stronger electro-withdrawing ability naphtho[1,2-c:5,6-c′]bis[1,2,5]thiadiazole (NT) unit, namely, poly[4,8-bis(5-(n-octylthio)thien-2-yl)-benzo[1,2-b:4,5-b′]dithiophene-2,6-diyl-alt-4,9-bis(4-(2-decyltetradecyl)thien-2-yl)naphtho- [1,2-c:5,6-c′]bis[1,2,5]thiadiazole-5,5′-diyl] (PBDT-TS-DTNT-DT) and poly[4,8-bis(triiso-propylsilylethynyl)benzo[1,2-b:4,5-b′]dithiophene-2,6-diyl-alt-4,9-bis(4-(2-decyltetradecyl)-thien-2-yl)naphtho[1,2-c:5,6-c′]bis[1,2,5]thiadiazole-5,5′-diyl] (PBDT-TIPS-DTNT-DT), were prepared by the palladium-catalyzed Stille polycondensation and characterized by gel permeation chromatography (GPC), UV-Vis absorption, thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA), cyclic voltammetry (CV) etc. PBDT-TS-DTNT-DT and PBDT-TIPS-DTNT-DT show the broader absorption and deeper highest occupied molecular orbital (HOMO) energy level approximately ?5.45 and ?5.62 eV, respectively. Bulk-heterojuction solar cells based on the resulted polymers and [6,6] phenyl-C₆₁ butyric acid methyl ester (PC₆₁BM) blends, with the device configuration of ITO/PFN/polymer:PC₆₁BM/MoO₃/Ag were prepared and investigated. The results showed the power conversion efficiency (PCE) of 2.67% for PBDT-TS-DTNT-DT/PC₆₁BM (w:w, 1:2) and 0.64% for PBDT-TIPS-DTNT-DT/PC₆₁BM (w:w, 1:1), with relatively high open-circuit voltage (V_OC) of 0.86 and 1.05 V, small short-circuit current (J_SC) of 5.41 and 0.97 mA cm^?2 and moderate fill factor (FF) of 57.8% and 62.4%, under an AM1.5 simulator (100 mWcm^?2), respectively.     

The synthesis of the D-A-type polymers containing benzo[1,2-b:6,5-b′]dithiophene-4,5-dione unit,their composites with carbon,and the lithium storage performances as electrode materials

Journal of Solid State Electrochemistry - Two novel donor-acceptor (D-A)-conjugated polymers, poly[(thiophene-2,5-yl)-((benzo[1,2-b:6,5-b′]dithiophene-4,5-dione)-2,7-yl)] (PTDT) and...